Dean "Don Vigilanti" Mundy: Always Seeing Beyond

For someone who, by his own admission, got fired "14 times" from the same job, Dean Mundy, of Imagine Dat Entertainment/Vigilante Productions has managed to carve out quite a niche for himself in the entertainment sphere.

The 'employer' in question here was Shocking Vibes, former home of current 'King of the Dancehall' Beenie Man, and the seeming revolving door was in facta testimony to Mundy's innate competitive drive and perseverance. "Even though there were personality and other issues that kept us butting heads, the fact is I was always growing creatively and looking for new skills to acquire in the business, so every time I left, it was just a matter of time before they realized my real value and called me back."

That career see-saw was a far cry from his formative days. Having received his first Roland drum machine from an uncle at age 11, he proceeded to become a fixture on high school dances, barbecues and other similar events. "The machine would be going, and I'd be doing my thing and I'd also have Squad One dancers working out with me," he recalls. This of course, was sometime before dancers became such an integral part of the popular culture.

In all of htis he nursed the desire to be an artiste and to perform on bigger stages. He would hang out at Grafton corner with the likes of Terror Fabulous and Super Beagle, but the latter infamously told him 'dis is isa a ugly man ting. you too good lookin fe become artiste'
Fortunately, he also used to hang with Tony Kelly, and it was Kelly who offered to show him something much more valuable. He showed the laregly unexposed youngster the ropes of studio engineering - eventually taking him to Penthouse Records where he worked on a number of major records.
But it was at Shocking Vibes that his talents would emerge and broaden. Beenie Man was "my project" he recalls. He wrote, produced, recorded mixed, did road manager duties and any other activity required as the 'Doctor's' career expanded into the international arena.

During his on-and-off tenure with Shocking Vibes, he had consistently journeyed to the US, and to New York in particular. After taking the decision to leave (he would return in a freelance capacity), he went to US, stayed for a time, worked with the likes of Wu-Tang Clan and other hip-hoppers, and also built a studio for himeself. But then, just 3 days after completion, he said he felt led to return to Jamiaca

Dean freelanced as engineer and also took a first step into the realm of artiste representation, but by this time, the larger vision of a total entertainment production company - a 'one-stop shop' where, as he says, "anyone could go from where they're at to the next level" - was taking shape in his mind.

That company is a relaity today as Imagine Dat Entertainment/Vigilanti Productions (the latter name arises from his fixation with the 'Godfather' films and withthe whole character of the 'Don' in particular. The company, which he runs with partner Nicole Brown, provides artistre rep/development, audio and video production,
and marketing and promotion among toher services.

And with hte impending widescale release of "So High" (thus far, with only Internet circulation, the response has been hugely positive), he's regained the mantle of artiste for himself - but with a broader purpose. "What amny aspiring artistes, and what the business really lacks today is models of success. People become popular and even successful, but the path isn't really made clearfor the up-and-comers to follow. With all the experience I've gained in this industry, I'm tryingto create a path, using myself - who better? - to be able to show persons out there, okay, if you want to have success, take these steps in this order and this manner and if you stick with it, you will succeed. If it can be done for me, it can be done for anybody who really wants it."

Izes on 'Full Blast'

IZES is on "full BLAST"
Producer Izes - who likens himself to the Jay-Zs and P Diddys of this world in terms of his apirations in the business - is giving the "mogul" touch to his latest project, the Full Blast riddim. The riddim is already being played heavily in Jamaica and has also debuted on Irie FM. Izes and Konshens will also shoot a video for the song “No Money To Give You”. That clip will be shot with Ras Tingle of TD Films at the helm, next month.

Izes started his career as a producer in 2003 when he approached Rohan “Snow Cone” Fuller with a riddim called ‘Applause’ which he created. It would be the first riddim he approved of for release. Well-known for its revolutionary effect on the dancehall and international scenes, “Applause” included hits such as Shane-O’s “Lightning Flash” and the Billboard fave “Temperature” by Sean Paul. It is for the latter that he received the ASCAP Pop Music Award for Most Played Song in 2006 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. However, Izes career did not stop there, he went on to work with Dane “Fire Links” Johnson to whom he gave the ‘Global’ riddim which contained several hits such as Beenie Man’s “Heart Attack” which topped several charts as well. He also created the well-known riddim ‘Gangsta Sitt’n’ on which Erup’s “Gal A Run Dem Head” was voiced and the ‘Cheerful’ riddim on which the street fave “Don’t Push It” by Delishus was voiced.

The label Izes Records has started to make strides already on the music scene. Earlier this year, he released a single by newcomer Nazzle called “Money fi Run” which did relatively well on the dancehall scene and received some airplay.
getting major airplay from the likes of Sunshine, Troy McLean, Dalton Leith and Liquid, among others.

Producer/entrepreneur Izes says he looks to fellow-music entrepeneurs like Jay-Z who successfull made the transition form artiste to producer to record company exec/A&R.

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Full Blast Riddim featuring the following tracks



KONSHENS – No Money To Give You



JAH VINCI – Prayer



ERUP – Pop That Cork



L BIZZLE – All I Have



NAZZLE – Modda Face



001IZS